Adapter



F. T. BAIRD ADAPTER Original Filed Ja.n. 13

April 8, 1924;

.electric lamp. The object of Reissued Apr. 8, 1924.

I Re. 15,811

FRANK T. BAIRD, OF BLUE'ISLAND, ILLINOIS. I

ADAPTER.

original No. 1,422,331, dated July 11, 1922, Serial No. 436,944, filed January 13, 1921.

- reissue filed October 10, 1923. Serial No. 667,770.

To all whom z'tmay concern: 1

Be it known that I, FRANK T. Baum, a citizen of the United States, residing at Blue Island, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Adapters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric lanterns of the portable type for use by trainmen and others, wherein the battery is enclosed within a water-tight receptacle and the receptacle is carried within an outer casing supported by a. bail or handle and having a base for sup )orting it. In several prior patents, inclu ing No. 1,275,360 and No. 1,278,824 I have shown lanterns in which the battery terminals are at the bottom and there engage terminals in the casing which leadto the my present invention is to improve the electric connection between the battery terminals and the casin terminals and render -it certain that good contact-will be maintained regardless of any rough usage to which the lantern may be subjected. This object is obtained through the medium of an insulating element, that may be in'the form of an adapter or contact plate, and conductors movably mounted thereon and which preferably extend theretbrough so as to' provide a suitable electrical connection or circuit between the terminals of the battery and lamp. These conductors may be resilient contacts in the manner to be presently described.

. The mechanism by which this 01 m is obtained is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fi re 1 is a general assembly view of the chie parts of the lantern, the casin and ada ter late being shown in centre ver- -tica section.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the adapter plate.

Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line- 3-3, Figure 2, and also shows the battery receptacle in position.

' a screw cap 2 and at Figure 4 is a sectional detail on the line 4-4, Figure 2.

Like numerals out the several views.

The battery receptacle 1 is cylindrical and formed of vulcanized rubber compound or other suitable material. It is provided with the bottom has a projectihg center terminal 3 and a projecting parts which they are to engage.

denote like parts through- Application tor outer terminal 4. By preference these terminals 3, 4 are cylindrical nuts of good conductive material. The receptacle and its terminals are described in more detail in an application filed on 'July 13, 1921, Serial No. 436,943. The details of construction of the battery receptacle, however, are not of particular importance in the present case further than just described.

The casing 6 of the lantern is similar in construction to the casings described .in my aforesaid earlierpatents, and it is sufficient for the present purpose to state that the casing is provided with abottom, the terminals whereof are energized through a center contact 8 located at the center of the bottom of the casing and an outer, ring or segmental shaped contact 10 located on the bottom of the casing concentrio with the center contact 8. Similar conlamp socket 7 at the aforesaid patents.

The lantern casing has a cover 12, on the under side of which is secured a compression spring 13 which, when the cover is closed, presses downward on the battery receptacle for holding it against vibration within the casing, and for pressing the terminals of the battery receptacle down so as to make good electrical contact with the A similar compression spring is shown in my earlier patents, but it has that the contact'produc'ed' between the terminals of the receptacle and the terminals of the lantern casing is not always reliable in the old'formwhere direct engagement was -made. These lanterns are frequently subjected to harduse, and it was found that the battery receptacle was sometimes displaced slightly but'enou h to either break contact or render it inadequate. Asa 1 '8' sult of my present invention, I have eliminated this source of uncertainty and have provided means for adapting the receptacle tothe casing and insuring ood electrical contact at all times. This I have accom: plished through the agency of an adapter which, in the illustrated design, consists of an insulating elementwhich may be-a disk 15 of vulcanized rubber compound or simibeen found in practice engagement respectively with pressed, the battery the receptacle and causing the disk to follow the receptacle when the latter is withdrawn from the casing, or it may be a part of the casing and yieldingly engaged with the battery when the latter is inserted in the casing. This disk or adapter plate has a center hole 18 and an outer hole 19, the former registering with the center contact 8 and the latter coming over the outer contact '10 of the lantern casing. In the pres ent embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings these holes accommodate the terminals 3, 4 and one result is that the plate is prevented from slipping sideways to any great extent and is prevented from rotating. At these holes 18 and 11) are mounted two conductors that arclniovably disposed therein and preferably. extend through the insulating element so as to provide electrical connection between the terminals of the battery and lamp. One manner of constructing these conductors'is to provide two leaf spring contacts 20, one having a natural'spring or inclination upward and the other downward, as illustrated in detail in Figure 4. These leaf springs are preferably made of bronze or other'conductive material and are fastened at the ends by rivets 22 or other appropriate fastening means. At their points of attachment, located at the sides of the holes,they are countersunk into the body of the plate, so that they will not interfere with exter nal objects.

In operation when it is desired to assemble the parts of the structure here illustrated, the plate 15 is first slipped onto the bottom of the battery receptacle 1, as best shown in Figure 3, whereupon the upper contact 20 mounted at the hole 18 willbe pressed into engagement with the center terminal 4. This condition is illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. The receptacle with the plate upon it is then lowered into the easing of 'the lantern, asthe result of Which the lower spring contacts 20 are pressed into the center contact 8 of the lantern casing and the outer or ring contact 10 thereof. The weight alone .of the batteryrecepta'cle and batte is sufiicient tohold the movable contacts in good electrical engagement with the fixed contacts .3, 4, 8, 10. en the cover 12 is closed, however, and the sprin 13 comreceptacle is ield firmly 'inposition and the co-operation of the various contacts assured. As the projecting contact 4 descends into the hole 19, the plate cannot rotate and the movable contacts consequently cannot rotate away from said contact 4. \Vhiles'pring 13 holds the battery receptacle against any considerable degree of movementwithin the casin 'times when the receptacle may be to'a slight extent,

there are displaced but the presence of the ry' adapted to be contained within the for said movable contacts of the position ofthe battery receptacle,

within any reasonable limits. As the result of my invention the lantern may be handled roughly without danger of disturbing the electric connection between the battery terminals and the lamp terminals, and the user will be assured that the tinue burning and the battery is sufiicicntly charged.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is z- 1. In a port-able electric lantern, a lantern casing, a battery receptacle adapted to be inserted within it, fixed center contacts on the casing and on the receptacle, 'fixed outer contacts on the casing and receptacle, an insulating plate adapted to intervene between the casing and the receptacle, said plate having one hole at the center and another at lamp will cong so long as it is In its socket.

the same distance from the center as the said fixed outer cont-acts, and double resilient contacts carried-by said plate at saidholes, one of each pair of resilient contacts pressing upward and the other downward to:- firmly engaging the respective fixed contacts when the pa] s are assembled.

2. A'portablc electric lantern having a casing provided with a fixed center contact and a fixed outer contact at the bottom, a. battery receptacle adapted to be contained within the casing, said receptacle having a fixed center contact and a fixed outer contact at the bottom in line with the fixed contacts 'on the casing, an insulating adapter plate provided with two pairs of spring contacts for engaging the respective cont-acts on the casing and receptacle, and clips for removably securing the plate to the receptacle. 3. A portable electric lantern havinga casing provided with a fixed center contact and a fixed outer contact in the form ofa ring at the bottom, a battery receptacle casing, said receptacle having a fixed center contact projecting downward from the bottom and a fixed outer contact also projecting downward at the bottom and confined to a small area, the contacts on the receptacle being directly over the corresponding contacts plate at the holes therein for the purpose described.

4. In an electric lantern having a bulb, a bulb-socket, a switch, and a circuit-branch including said bulb-socket and switch, means for establishing a circuit between the terminals of a battery, said bulb and said circuit-branch comprising an insulating element provided with apertures, and conduc- :tors movably mounted in the apertures therein and extendin through said element for providing morabll contact and a circuit between the terminals of the battery, said bulb, and said circuit branch.

5. In an electric lantern having a bulb, a bulb-socket, ,3, switch, and a circuit-branch including said bulb-socket, and switch, means for establishing a circuit between the terminals of a battery, said bulb and said circuit-branch comprising an insulating element provided with apertures, and conduc tors yieldingly mounted in the apertures therein and extending through said element for providing yielding contact and a circuit between the terminals of the battery, said bulb and said circuit-branch.

6. In an electric lantern having a bulb, a.

bulb-socket, a switch, and a circuit-branch including said bulb-socket and switch, means for establishing a circuit-branch comprising an insulating element provided with apertures, and conductors movably mounted in said apertures and extendin through said element for providing movabfiz contact and a circuit between the terminals of the battery, said bulb, and said circuit-branch.

7. In an electric lantern having a bulb, a bulb-socket-, a switch, and a. circuit-branch including said bulb-socket and switch, means.

for establishing a. circuit between the terminals of a. battery, said bulband said cir-. 

